


um olho no peixe e outro no gato

by arcanamagnus



Series: Peaceful Mode [7]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-27
Updated: 2019-07-27
Packaged: 2020-07-23 08:47:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20005546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arcanamagnus/pseuds/arcanamagnus
Summary: Leozack has found an opportunity for ascension in his political career. He absolutely has to tell his most staunch supporter about this in the most roundabout way possible.





	um olho no peixe e outro no gato

Depth Charge hated how much he couldn’t avoid forming bonds. He knew that he needed Leozack — treacherous, scheming, selfish Leozack — to get his way in terms of how the Quaestor's office and the civil guard operated, but none of that justified how disgustingly fond of him he'd grown to be. Seeking him out was proving to be more trouble than it was worth, and yet he had no desire to stop seeing him.

Leozack had invited him over, very cryptically — as they had to be —, and, like a fool, he showed up expecting something serious. There was new information, yes, but most of its sense was lost in Leozack’s frivolous complaints and incessant squirming. And that wasn’t even getting to the  _ clinging _ — over the course of his monologue Leozack had managed to squirm his way onto Depth Charge’s lap and reduce his comprehension of the subject to moot.

"You're not listening. Are you?" Leozack flicked at Depth Charge's mask, "I could've said something important and all you care about is squeezing dents into my hips."

" _ Were _ you saying something important? As far as I heard, it was a tangent on how Crossblades is a 'rust bucket' who keeps 'cutting your vibe'. And I must’ve missed something because I don't know how you two got mixed up when you're  _ Animal Control _ ," Depth Charge shot back, but placatingly ran his hands up and down Leozack's back, "Was there a point to you calling me over or am I just here to soothe your ego?"

Leozack hummed in major seventh, a strange formless melody over it. He shifted on Depth Charge's lap, pushing him further back into the memory foam couch and slipping between his legs.

"Maybe a bit of both," he leaned his head on Depth Charge's shoulder, "Old-timer Pinkface  _ did _ take from me a very valuable, very reasonable chance to get on a possible new Prime’s good side. But then again I just  _ really _ like having you completely ignore me while I open my spark to you."

Though Depth Charge knew Leozack was just teasing, he could notice just a little bit of genuine hurt as the seventh went minor for a nanoklik. But Leozack was quick to get back to business:

"If Cheetor replaces Onyx as Princeps, there's a chance he might favour fellow cats when it's time to replace Magistrates, and you know very well it's in both our interests that one of them is me."

"So you want me to set you up?" Depth Charge asked, continuing to pet Leozack's back, "We're not exactly friends."

"You don't  _ have _ friends, I know," he slid down to lay his chin over the head of Depth Charge's alt mode, "And that wasn’t really my intention, but he  _ likes _ you, for some reason."

"As do you."

"As do I."

Leozack slowly moved his hands up to the hidden latch to Depth Charge's mask — and then the front door came open.

"Hey, Lionbreast was outside for some r— Oh hi, Depth Charge."

"Lyzack," he greeted back, discreetly moving his hands off of Leozack’s waist.

"Hey Ly, how was Esmeral?" Leozack didn’t miss a beat asking, absolutely refusing to move.

"Fit to govern for a few thousand vorns more, and still holds you in high regard, if that’s what you’re asking," she set down Lionbreast into the living room, "Go conspire in your room so Lion's not frightening local wildlife, will ya?"

"Can you take him with you? We're almost done here."

"He's  _ your _ symbiote," Lyzack sighed, "I'm going to Antilla, I just came by to get my sword."

"Stay for a bit and I'll go with you."

Leozack squirmed further atop Depth Charge, who emitted a sharp diminished noise, as if reminding them that he was still there.

"How... about you meet me there, yeah? Don’t wanna cut into your ‘secret meeting’." 

And so Lyzack disappeared to her room for a couple kliks before leaving the two of them alone again, this time with the pneumalion. 

"Well, so the 'cat's out so he doesn't watch us frag' cover-up is busted.”

“I doubt anyone’s watching us that closely,” Depth Charge reached to pet Lionbreast, who’d jumped onto the couch with them, “And if they are, we  _ did  _ just get walked in on by your sister. You know she’ll back you up in whatever story you spin.”

“Or she’ll spin  _ hers _ ,” Leozack snickered, “You  _ really _ don’t want to be the centre of her latest romantic intrigue plot.”

"Hm. Being part of  _ yours _ isn't any better."

"Tough luck. Should’ve thought of that when you offered me political support like you were picking me up at the bar,” Leozack now full-on laughed, and slipped to the side onto the sofa, next to his symbiote.

But he was right, in a way. Their alliance  _ had _ come to be on a chance meeting at Beetle’s, and Depth Charge  _ had _ bought him an appetiser to call on his attention. That Leozack took upon himself to make their initial conversation about the Mechanimal Control Department’s new culling policy seem like flirty banter was but a response to the tone Depth Charge unintentionally set.

And now, for all that the rest of Eukaris cared, the two of them were either going steady or just really fond of each other’s frames. Depth Charge cursed himself for almost wishing it were true — enough that the cat was all too willing to blur the lines between business and pleasure, he couldn’t fall in too. 

“I can hear you thinking too hard about it from here, Fishlips,” Leozack snap him out of it by poking him on the side, “You are committed to slagging that monster, and thus to me and my office. That’s all this needs to be. Unlike  _ some bots _ I know when someone’s not interested,” though his secondary melodic line said, “ _ I do all of this because I know you are. _ ”

Right when Depth Charge thought to respond, Leozack stiffened and held up a finger.

“Mechanimal Control. How can I help you?” He spoke blankly into his comm, but changed his tone after a beat, “What do you  _ want _ , Hellbat?”

_ Speak of Unicron and he shall make his appearance, huh? _

The situation with Leozack and Hellbat was an absolute mess, and also the reason why Lyzack was the only other person in on their farce. That sneaky little bat was a valuable asset to communications, and thus it was pointless to try and keep him out of Leozack’s plans, but Hellbat was more underhanded than Leozack himself, who’d been fooled by his outlier power too many times to give Hellbat his new personal line after changing it. The rest of this story, though, Leozack wasn’t amenable to sharing, but Depth Charge could make his guesses.

“Well, that’s… Why did you call the hotline for this like I’m not going to see it on the news first thing in the next shift?” Leozack pressed his hands onto his primary optics, “Alright alright, thanks, I guess.”

He cleared his vents loudly and sank back into the couch. Lionbreast moved to sit on Leozack’s lap now, scratching at his chest until it was being pet again.

“Guess Spots really is made of Prime material,” he turned to Depth Charge, “Maggot called in both that Cheetor got accepted by the mask,  _ and  _ that there’s a hellhound situation that needs defusing up by Prime’s little hermit cave.”

“So you’re going up there to try and talk to him,” Depth Charge completed, “And bailing out on your sister.”

“And bailing out on my sister,” he confirmed, “It’s not like she’s actually expecting me to go. I’m with you, aren’t I?”

"You're impossible."

"So I'm told," Leozack smiled as he stood up and offered Depth Charge a hand, "I think we'd best be off, downer."

**Author's Note:**

> Title is an expression in Portuguese that translates directly to "an eye on the fish and the other on the cat", it basically means "to take care of two things simultaneously". Which they ARE doing, I guess, but it originally came to mind for the pun.


End file.
